To think being a reader doesn't make you better or smarter?

One thing I find (as a prolific reader) is that I’m just generally more intelligent and have a better vocabulary than most people I come across.

And I think that’s down to me reading a wide variety of books and also just being very curious about certain things and going down rabbit holes googling/researching stuff.

Not being a reader doesn’t mean you’re not intelligent or very capable of course not - but my own personal opinion is that I find it difficult to discuss a wide range of topics with people who don’t read.

One of the things that makes dh and compatible is that we both read a lot (we both read fiction and non fiction but totally different stuff) and like to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world so we can usually always find something interesting to talk about.

My best friends (whom I love) are not readers at all, are not interested in politics/art/literature etc. and whilst we never stop talking when we’re together it tends to be quite superficial stuff or talking about relationships. I have to use my hobby groups to discuss more intellectual things like at my book club.

I recently in my friendship group of 6 women mentioned the fact I read Jane Eyre once a year and none of them knew what I was talking about. A couple did say “is that a film?”! They are all intelligent women!

DH doesn’t read, left school at 16. I’m a big reader, university educated, professional job, generally quite clever.

9/10 out of ten when DH says something educated or something I don’t know I’ll joke whether he knows that from Big Bang Theory (which he’s watched about a million times) and the answer is yes.

(also to defend DH, he’s incredibly practical and knows an impressive amount about electrics, plumbing, networking, pharmaceuticals and DIY despite that not being in any way related to his work. He is just clever in a different way to me, but does learn a lot from pop culture “low brow” TV!)

They are reading for their own personal enjoyment, and that is all that matters.

Now I think about it, in my totally non-scientific analysis, the only people who have told me they never read books have been significantly less smart/had less common sense than their peers. I’m talking 5 people over 20 years in a professional work setting…so not many…but it’s a 100% hit rate. (I’ve also worked with some hopeless avid readers for balance!)

I think it absolutely does make you more knowledgable. As a child I got shedloads of knowledge about other eras and other countries that I just would not have got by watching TV. Books tend to go into more detail. From Little Women alone I learned about the American Civil War, Pilgrim's Progress and what "muslin" was, among many other things, and was inspired to make my sister's contribute to a family newspaper (and eventually became a journalist).

At the moment I am reading a book which in just one aside told me something about Waterloo Bridge which I didn't know. The amount I have learned by reading, I just can't think how I would have gained that any other way. And of course it isn't just facts although those are the most obvious - it is getting a deeper understanding of humanity, different ways of thinking, different ways of reacting to things, finding out that you are not alone in what you think or feel or conversely that there are many different ways to think and feel. TV and movies do not take you inside people's heads.

I don't think it makes anyone better or smarter by default but I do think it's something that is an important tool for improving a whole lot of skills related to improving intelligence. I don't think that's remotely controversial to say.

Do you think that’s true of people of all ages?
I am mid 50’s and don’t know anyone who watches Love island.

Well personally I read for fun, but the OP was asking if reading makes you smarter, so I was responding to that. Reading certain things can definitely make you more ignorant. I know someone who recently started reading all sorts of conspiracy theory books, and it has definitely made them much more ignorant.

@OnceaReaderNeveraReader you say you enjoy art, theatre and dance.

Are you never tempted to pick up a book on those subjects, to revel in the information there and research or learn more? When I see a play I want to know about the writer, the actors, the story behind it all. Does that not draw you in to reading?

Reading isn't necessarily better at broadening knowledge than any of these IMO, it's just whatever works for you and whatever you enjoy.

I like reading books on my phone (Kindle) as when I read a word I don't know I'll highlight and look it up. I don't use this knowledge to feel superior I just enjoy knowing it, for myself. I'm not overly intelligent or academic, not studied at uni and would likely struggle to do a degree in anything.

Don't let anyone make you feel inferior OP, maybe they didn't mean it that way but still...don't feel bad

Using your own imagination through reading is different and provides different benefits. You can read research on how this works.

It's not about intelligence, but it is different.

I hate this kind of book with a passion, but I still think there's value in them: practicing concentration, imagination, reading comprehension. People don't have to be reading litfic to benefit from reading as a whole! Maybe the ice hockey porn novels aren't expanding the vocabulary a lot but someone who reads at all is more likely to start expanding their horizons than someone who doesn't read at all.

I am a reader - it’s a hobby that I enjoy. It certainly doesn’t make me smarter or better - but it has broadened my horizons a bit and it has helped broaden my vocabulary.

I don’t have any options on non- readers. My sister is smarter than me and she hates novels. Has done since childhood.

I do think reading fiction broadens the mind and the intellect. Or, put another way, I'd say the people I know who don't read fiction are less well-informed, less imaginative (for want of a better word; maybe I mean something to do with 'inner life' and also empathy/imagining other people's lives) and think less well than people I know who are readers.
This is purely personal experience, I know.

Better? No.

Smarter? Absolutely…. Someone who reads is taking in more information, practicing creativity, imagination, neural pathways are strengthened and attention span is often better.

Reading is a documented mental workout… it literally rewires your brain enhancing crystallised and fluid intelligence.

Really depends what you read. And the difference between "reading" as a method of gaining information and "reading books" which is just one method of reading.

Some fiction books have interesting concepts and new ideas.

Some don't really contain much at all in terms of interesting like most romantic fiction which is little better than soap operas.

I don't think reading books is an exclusive way these days of getting useful information. But reading of some sort (such as web pages) is a necessary tool for gaining information, especially detailed and specific information which often won't have things like TV programs made about it.

The net in many forms, web pages, podcasts and TV can be just as good, and the best thing is it can be tailored to your level of expertise. Some of it involves reading and some watching and listening.

But the idea that you can only become or be an intellectual by reading loads of books is somewhat primitive compared to say 30 years ago where it was probably necessary to actually read lots of books to be an intellectual.

This weekend we went to the Charles Dickens museum. He wasn't educated beyond 11 or 12 years old but was a varacious reader. I think it certainly broadened his mind.

I don’t know but I’ve never met a really intelligent person who doesn’t like to read.

I don't think being a reader necessarily makes you smarter or more intelligent,but one thing I do know is that it definitely improves your spelling, grammar and vocabulary. I've loved reading from a very early age, and without wanting to boastful,I would say that my spelling, grammar and vocabulary is better than people I know who don't read much.

And to add to this, DH is a crap speller. That's one of the things I'm actually good at. I attribute that to reading. But stand by my original point.

I disagree. Reading broadens the mind and it shows in conversation. I bet if asked, the majority of people could name the last few winners of Love Island but very few could tell you the seven wonders of the ancient world, for example. It's quite depressing

Reading regularly gives you a better vocabulary, but that’s not the same as being smarter. I do think books have given me a greater understanding of lots of things, other media doesn’t have the depth and detail of a book, an adaptation in film is almost always a reduced version. That said if you don’t enjoy it, you don’t, there’s nothing wrong with not reading. I rarely get the chance these days.

We all have different ways to feed our brains.

Just wanted to say this is me with The Simpsons!

I'm a big reader too but loads of my knowledge which I learnt as a child came from The Simpsons!

Anecdotally, the clever people I know are all readers to some extent.

There's a reason that reading comprehension is part of most education systems: reading isn't just about taking in words on a page, it's about visualising them, understanding context and subtext, processing it, following plots etc. I stopped reading for pleasure for ages and I found when I got back into it again that it was like a muscle, and the more I did it the easier I found it to get into a book, so I do think there's something to be said for the mental workout of reading that must be doing something good for the brain. And it can be hard to get into if you're not used to it, especially nowadays where the requirement to sit and be still and concentrate feels harder than ever.

I'd say pick something you really like the sound of and give it a go, if you want to - if you like art/theatre/dance then there are countless non-fiction books about them if you're interested, or another tack is to pick something 'easy' and fun to get you into it. Audiobooks are great, too - my husband's dyslexic and he finds these mean he still gets to enjoy books without the struggle.